On This Water

Louisiana · Venice / Birdfoot

Redfish should be the day — the birdfoot drains and the pass edges — wind and river stage are the tide.

The Mississippi birdfoot. Passes, ponds, and river-marsh. Bull reds in the passes, school reds and trout in the ponds. Tarpon in mid-summer on the beach and the south passes. NOAA 8760721 Pilottown is the clock. Wind and river stage move more water than the printed tide.

  • This brief is for 2027-02-09, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
  • Tide · modeled — NOAA 8760721 quiet
  • NDBC BURL1 quiet
  • Salinity probe quiet or stale
  • River · USGS 07374525
  • Red-tide check failed — not all-clear
  • Sargassum check failed — not all-clear
  • Water temp quiet
7.9OF 10

Forecast

low confidence

Forecast brief for Tuesday, February 9. Back to this morning

Morning line

Venice 7.9 on Tuesday, February 9. 7 mph NNW. Overcast. YOLO day is Wednesday, August 26. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-0.7-0.40.00.40.7HLHLHLHLTue 6 AMWed 6 AMThu 6 AMFri 6 AM
outgoing · 0.15 ft · drag or hover for the clockModeled M2 clock — no NOAA gauge on this water. Not a buoy.

Wind

OPEN-METEO

NESW7MPH

From NNW · gust 8

Buoy

NDBC BURL1

Quiet

Southwest Pass did not report. Witness only — not the tide clock.

Sky

OPEN-METEO

Clouds

Overcast

A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.

Moon

10% lit

Waxing crescent

mid range · 10%

Water

No gauge

Water

48°92°

Today’s range 0.8 ft

outgoing

0.15 ft modeled

Coast

No live coast layer

Red-tide check failed. That is not all-clear — open the agency page before you wade.

Sargassum check failed. Not a GPS pin. Not all-clear.

Salinity / color
Black Bay near Pointe-à-la-Hache is quiet or stale. Not a color reading.

River

USGS 07374525

298,000 cfs

Mississippi River at Belle Chasse, LA

Discharge into this bay. High water stains the flat.

Wind vs table

No live gauge

No live gauge this hour — the printed tide is the forecast.

Clock

NOAA 8760721

  • HighTue 6:00 AM · 0.36
  • LowTue 12:00 PM · -0.38
  • HighTue 6:00 PM · 0.39
  • LowWed 12:00 AM · -0.40
  • HighWed 7:00 AM · 0.42

Bahamas tides are modeled from lunar M2. Use them for windows, not a bar crossing.

Monthly YOLO day

Wednesday, August 26

Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waxing gibbous · spring · tide range ~0.9 ft · wind to 5 mph · Thunderstorms · 30%

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

This pip is that mark on this tide — not the day on the ring.

  • South Pass

    pass jetty · public structure · deep

    8.1

    Named river mouth. Bulls and summer tarpon. River stage and wind decide more than the table.

    • pass jetty on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
    skiffspinfly
  • Venice west-bank marsh

    marsh drain · public structure · mid

    8.1

    Delta ponds inside the passes. School reds and trout. Your Gulf Atlas pin lives here.

    • marsh drain on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
    skiffkayakflyspin
  • Southwest Pass

    pass jetty · public structure · deep

    7.4

    The other throat of the birdfoot. Current, ships, and the Gulf. Not a pond.

    • pass jetty on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • In-play: Redfish.
    skiffspin

When

When is moving water in a good hour — not the day. First light and last light are named when the clock is the story. Today’s ring mixes the best mark, the lead fish, and the best window, then taxes the sky. A strong incoming can sit under a weak day if the wind or the fish is off. Calendar cells are a third recipe: range, moon, and the day’s forecast.

  • Outgoing water

    9.9

    Tue 8:00 AMTue 2:00 PM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Last light · incoming

    9.6

    Tue 1:00 PMTue 8:00 PM

    Last light on incoming water.

  • Last light · outgoing

    9.6

    Tue 7:00 PMWed 2:00 AM

    Last light on outgoing water.

  • First light · incoming

    9.9

    Wed 2:00 AMWed 8:00 AM

    First light on incoming water.

  • Outgoing water

    9.9

    Wed 8:00 AMWed 2:00 PM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

Launch and beach access

Cited to LDWF ramp lists and Louisiana State Parks. Parish rules shift after a blow.

  • Venice public launches

    Plaquemines Parish / LDWF ramp directory

    Birdfoot door. South and Southwest Pass are the run. Confirm which ramps are open after a blow.

    Official source

Legal water

No-take and closed water cited to the agency that owns it. Only the Keys box is FKNMS.

No FKNMS polygon in this box. Mainland Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Mexico, and the Bahamas are not Keys sanctuary closures.

Why — and who

  • Tide is outgoing (modeled — NOAA 8760721 Pilottown did not answer).
  • Overcast. Sky is workable.
  • Wind 7 mph NNW. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
  • Waxing crescent moon — mid tide range. Marsh and passes usually want the extra current of a spring.
  • USGS salinity well Black Bay near Pointe-à-la-Hache is quiet or stale — not all-clear, not a color reading.

Black drum

Pogonias cromis

8.4

Thermal window

46°88°

In peak season for this water. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.

Louisiana: check LDWF coastal finfish before you keep a drum.

Redfish

Sciaenops ocellatus

6.6

Thermal window

48°92°

Present, not peak. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.

Louisiana: 4/day, 18–27 in slot. None over 27. No harvest in federal waters. Charter captain/crew bag is zero. Verify LDWF.

Speckled trout

Cynoscion nebulosus

6.6

Thermal window

44°90°

Present, not peak. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.

Louisiana: 15/day, 13–20 in slot, no more than two over 20. Charter captain/crew bag is zero. Verify LDWF.

Tarpon

Megalops atlanticus

4.8

Thermal window

68°94°

Off-season here. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.

Louisiana: treat as catch-and-release.

Jack crevalle

Caranx hippos

4.8

Thermal window

64°94°

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Off-season here. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.

Generally unregulated. Still, do not leave a pile.

Regs citedLDWF recreational saltwater · current LDWF coastal finfish · rolls in 7 days. Louisiana flounder is typically closed Oct 15–Nov 30. Verify LDWF the week you keep one.